Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) Holdings Lifted by Spring Capital Management LLC

Spring Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 183.8% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 84,759 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 54,896 shares during the quarter. Walmart accounts for about 3.8% of Spring Capital Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 10th biggest holding. Spring Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $5,100,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Walmart by 0.6% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 137,214,807 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $21,944,764,000 after purchasing an additional 751,713 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley increased its holdings in shares of Walmart by 1.8% in the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 24,087,268 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,852,277,000 after buying an additional 426,388 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Walmart in the 4th quarter valued at about $3,674,652,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its holdings in Walmart by 11.9% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 20,235,920 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,190,194,000 after acquiring an additional 2,150,351 shares during the period. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its position in Walmart by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 13,011,647 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,081,120,000 after acquiring an additional 78,981 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.81, for a total value of $798,131.25. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 645,517 shares in the company, valued at approximately $39,253,888.77. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Walmart news, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.81, for a total value of $798,131.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 645,517 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $39,253,888.77. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP John D. Rainey sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.26, for a total transaction of $180,780.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 524,613 shares in the company, valued at approximately $31,613,179.38. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 14,493,971 shares of company stock worth $950,549,592 over the last three months. 45.58% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Walmart Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WMT opened at $67.91 on Friday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $63.23 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $58.75. Walmart Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $49.85 and a fifty-two week high of $68.55. The company has a market capitalization of $546.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.06, a P/E/G ratio of 3.92 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a current ratio of 0.80.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 16th. The retailer reported $0.60 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.52 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $161.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $159.57 billion. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.57% and a net margin of 2.88%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.49 EPS. Analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 2.42 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. Bank of America boosted their price objective on Walmart from $67.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 17th. Truist Financial increased their price target on shares of Walmart from $60.00 to $64.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, May 17th. HSBC raised their price target on shares of Walmart from $70.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 11th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Walmart from $62.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 17th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Walmart from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 17th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $69.97.

Walmart Company Profile

Walmart Inc engages in the operation of retail, wholesale, other units, and eCommerce worldwide. The company operates through three segments: Walmart U.S., Walmart International, and Sam's Club. It operates supercenters, supermarkets, hypermarkets, warehouse clubs, cash and carry stores, and discount stores under Walmart and Walmart Neighborhood Market brands; membership-only warehouse clubs; ecommerce websites, such as walmart.com.mx, walmart.ca, flipkart.com, PhonePe and other sites; and mobile commerce applications.